Poetry: Will I ever hear the victory song?

by Wole Samuel Opesanmi

A protester covers himself with an Egyptian national flag as he flashes a victory sign on a barricade placed by the Egyptian military near Tahrir Square

The victory songs and shouts become still, the favourite fighter of the crowd is weak! with arrogance, he lunges at me for the kill,…

Armed I am with a sword but no shield,

“I need to protect myself” to the umpire I plead.

He scoffs at me with a laugh that seemed obscene,

The end is nigh! to myself I concede.

 

FIGHT! The disgruntled umpire bellows,

Screaming with a voice that made me shiver.

My enemies charge at me like sick fellows,

With such enthusiasm, I could only but quiver.

 

My on-rushing enemies come two at a time,

Shielded chests, four swords in four hands.

I search frantically for help, but none is by my side,

All I hear is the unsettling noise from the stands.

 

FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!  The crowd shouts

My vicious enemies are few feets away

My tame weapon assures me I’d lose this bout

I stare at the sky! I will never see it again.

 

I look to the intimidating umpire helplessly,

Hoping to heavens this creature has a humane side.

Through the sound he shakes his head at me shamelessly,

Saying; “No one wins life’s battle without a fight”

 

“GLORY GLORY FOR THE CONQUEROR”

The crowd sing their famous victory Song

“GLORY GLORY FOR THE CONQUEROR”

“LIFE WILL NO LONGER TREAT U AS DONG”

 

Our swords clash with a deafening sound!

Surprisingly my enemies weren’t that strong.

I twist and turn with the knowledge I just discovered!

Drawing first blood, I cut the throat of one.

 

The crowd erupts with a loud cheer!

Feeling triumphant, in agreement I smile.

I lose concentration! He comes at me without fear,

I protect my chest but he cuts my thigh.

 

The victory songs and shouts become still,

The favourite fighter of the crowd is weak!

With arrogance, he lunges at me for the kill,

He misses and I plunge my sword into a place called ‘Prick’

 

Victoriously I rise, but something is amiss,

I hear no shouts, the song is not being sung.

In despair I run to the umpire, “I hear nothing” I hiss

He stares at me with eyes that made me want to run.

 

“There are many battles to fight in life son”

Running at me were 3 men with shiny swords!

He continues: ” U will have to fight every one”

“But remember you will win some and you will lose some.”

 

I sprang up to life from my dreams

My skin soaked with sweat from its pores

How long can I continue like this?

Will I ever hear the Victory Song?

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Op-ed pieces and contributions are the opinions of the writers only and do not represent the opinions of Y!/YNaija.

One comment

  1. Lovely piece. The message was clear. Sometimes we feel we can’t take on the challenge or obstacle that is before us because we are scared to try or think that it is beyond our strength. What we truly need to remember is that nothing always seem to be as it appears and our strength is beyond what we think of it. In the end, we come out victors or learn from our defeat. ‘We win some, we lose some’. What really matters is to keep on moving. Keep up the good work.

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